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Monday, March 7, 2016

I am doing something I have never done before: writing a review on a service that I did not love. Not only did I just not love it, I can confidently say that I HATE it. I have never shared reviews on products or services that I did not like, because I'd rather just give attention to great things, however, I feel I'd be doing an injustice by not sharing my experience at SpaByMode. As many of you know, I gave birth to my son a year and a half ago. When Zane was a newborn, my free time was very limited, and as a result, I came up with the 'brilliant' idea to have my eyebrows tattooed with semi-permanent makeup. I began my research on Instagram, and that's when I found spabymode's account, and was impressed with the work I saw. I scheduled an appointment, and when Zane was just two months old, I left him home with a babysitter for the very first time to undergo this procedure.

My experience began before I arrived at Spa By Mode, when I was four
minutes late and received a call by Sharon's assistant, asking where I
was. I explained that my navigation led me to the wrong side of the
street, and asked for guidance to find the correct shopping center,
since there were shopping centers lined up for 5 blocks. I found the
correct one, parked my car, and literally ran into the shop, apologizing
for being 6 minutes late. Sharon forced a smile, while leisurely
flipping through her appointment book for several minutes, before casually strolling to
the restroom. I sat and waited for 15 minutes, before her assistant led
me into the tattoo room, (her assistant was pleasant).

Sharon
later entered the room and carried an angry and rude demeanor from
start to finish. She told me she had been doing eyebrows for ten years,
and I realized it was probable that she had become so robotic that she
forgot to treat each new client with delicacy, as this was a first time
for me, and getting a tattoo on my face is a big deal. I showed her
photos of different types of eyebrows that I like, and then she told me
to lay down so she could draw a shape of HER choosing on one brow. Once
she finished drawing the brow, I sat up and inspected it in the mirror. I
was taken back by the shape, size, and dark color she drew. She asked
my opinion and I gave her a list of things to alter. For every opinion I
had, instead of making the alterations, she angrily defended why she
drew the shape she had drawn. After a while of talking in circles and
her repeated response of "Your face is a square. This is the brow shape
for your square face." She put on yet another painfully forced smile,
while constantly glancing at the time, and said "You have three minutes
to decide, or else I am not going to do your eyebrows." The pressure
from her anger got the best of me, because I agreed to start the
process because otherwise, I was "wasting" her precious time. The
process was extremely painful. I was not numbed at all! Once she completed the tattoo
application, I took a look in the mirror and wanted to cry. Sharon
reminded me that they would lighten up 40-50% and shrink 25%. Once I
paid, her demeanor flipped a switch, and she acted nice suddenly. She
urged me to pay cash to avoid card surcharges. She also said that if I
had any questions or concerns, I could call her, and "if" she had time,
she'd return my call. The entire process was very stressful and rushed,
and still under the two hours allotted for the appointment.

My
eyebrows took over a week to peel and heal, and the outcome still, is
not to my liking. All the things I wanted her to change, though she
refused, are the things I have to face every time I look in the mirror.
My left brow is much darker than the right, and my right brow is higher
than the left. The space between my too dark eyebrows is far too wide,
and they make me appear angry. It's very frustrating to know that I
asked her to change these things and she refused, with much hostility. I was also horrified to discover that she had shaven the outer half of my eyebrows off, and tattoed above my actual eyebrow, so when my eyebrow hair grew back, I looked like I had two sets of eyebrows! I try my best to conceal the brows that she tattooed, and stick to my natural brow line. This actually requires more time to do my eyebrows than before I even got them tattooed!I
cancelled my "touch up" appointment, because I refuse to pay her to fix
what she should have done in the first place, and touch ups should be
included in the original cost. I also opted to spare myself from her
unprofessional and miserable attitude.

I have since read reviews on yelp, and all the negative ones (there are many) are spot on. I only wish I read them before this awful experience. If I can save one person's eyebrows from her, that will make me happy.

Below is a photo of my eyebrows, applied by myself. I showed this photo to Sharon, and she said they did not match my face at all, and created her own awful look on me.

Now, here is a collection of the tattooes by Sharon. As you can see, her tail is above my actual eyebrow tail, as my real eyebrow hair begins to grow back. She drew above the left eyebrow and under the right eyebrow. There is no symmetry at all. The space between my eyebrows is too far, and isn't tattooed at all in this area.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Holiday season is in full effect! Today, I want to share a few of my must haves for the holidays. First and foremost, you want to look good AND feel comfortable, right? I keep my legs warm and keep my belly in check with Hanes firm control Power Shapers. This way, I can indulge in all the holiday goodies and not appear bloated.

I love to keep my lips festive with a deep berry color. My favorite at the moment is Kat Von D liquid lipstick in BAUHAU5, matched with LA Girl lipliner in Rose. This pair is sure to last through the night, even after eating and drinking.
Speaking of eating and drinking, another must for me is red wine; a favorite being Stella Rosa Red. You just can't go wrong with Stella Rosa. A great bottle of wine is a great gift to bring to a party. If wine isn't your thing, another fail safe party gift would have to be a box of yummy assorted chocolates. My favorite have always been Sees Candy chocolates. And if you have somehow forgotten to buy anything as a gift, Christmas cards are great to stuff cash or quickly scoop up a gift card. I always keep extra Christmas cards on hand.
So the bottom line is: show up looking great, and bearing sweets for your hosts, or guests, and all will be merry!

Happy Holidays! :)

Thank you to Hanes for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Zane is 8 months old now! He also has 6 teeth now! His two top front teeth came in, and then his incisors made their way immediately after. When he was cranky from all the pain, I would give him hylands tablets, tylenol, and I nursed, nursed, nursed! Nursing on demand around the clock helped him so much. I was so worried about him biting me because he would clench his jaw and grind his teeth in discomfort, but somehow, he miraculously knew not to bite me; amazing! He has a gap between his top front teeth, and I think it's just the cutest thing ever!
As I've mentioned plenty of times, I exclusively breastfeed Zane. I didn't really know when to start giving Zane baby food, but a part of me wanted to put it off for a while, selfishly because I still want the strong nursing bond that we share. I read and was told from fellow mothers that the right time to introduce baby food id generally when the baby can sit up on his/her own, unassisted, has mastered their pincer skills, and expresses an interest in watching your food. When Zane exhibited all of these things, I reluctantly knew it was time to try. I started off with rice cereal mixed with my breast milk, but Zane would close his mouth tightly each time I brought the spoon to his mouth. Later, I tried sweet potatoes, and that went better. I will keep trying until he falls in love with food, but I still want to breastfeed through his first birthday.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Zane is 7 months old! Now that he sits up on his own, he feels like such a big kid, and loves it! He plays with his year old cousin everyday and she calls him 'baby'. He started swim lessons this month, and so far, he does not like it. Even though his lessons are only 15 minutes long, it's painful to see him look so unhappy. I just keep reminding myself that he won't remember any of this. Zane's first two bottom teeth are coming in, and he has been such a brave little boy through the teething process. Zane is loving all his chew toys, but especially when I just wet a wash rag and tie it into a knot. I can't lie; I'm terrified of Zane using me as a chew toy when he nurses, but so far so good.
I didn't mention this in my 6 month post, but it is definitely worth mentioning that my hair has completely stopped falling out, and is all growing back. I may have a ton of wild baby hair, but I will take that any day over bald spots. Just before the 6 month mark, I grew incredibly impatient with my hair constantly getting tangled due to the hair fallout, and I told my mother I was going to cut my hair to my shoulder. I had given up on my hair, but my mother ran out and brought me hair detangler and promised my hair would go back to normal, and as soon as Zane turned 6 months old, my hair really was back to normal. I hope this gives hope to my postpartum mamas who are dealing with the awful postpartum hair loss issues. It really does get better and I'm living proof!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Zane is now half a year old! It is amazing that time has flown by, and it's hard to remember life before he entered it. I have already become that mother who obsessively photographs every breath he takes, but how could I not? Babies change so much in their first year of life, and I feel compelled to chronicle every little detail about him. It's truly refreshing to see the world through the eyes of such a young soul; so much joy in every new discovery. As we get older, we tend to get jaded, and sometimes our true talents and gifts can get suppressed. Our little ones, however, are fearless about the world. They will take a leap of faith, even if it's a literal leap off the bed and onto the floor, lol. Point being that they feel that they can achieve anything, and have such an innate joy for life. I will do all that I can to turn that spark into a flame, and encourage Zane to always be fearlessly himself, and to be proud to share his gifts with the world. He has already colored my world.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Zane is 5 months old! His hair now stands straight up and he looks like a Teddy bear, which is fitting, because his middle name is Theodore, or as I like to call him, Teddy. He has to be the happiest baby I have ever encountered, because he has a permanent smile on his face, and lets out the cutest uncontrollable giggles. His giggles are so contagious that no one can keep a straight face around him. I am constantly pulling out my camera to record his beautifully blossoming personality. Every time I'm in deep conversation with someone, he starts talking just as seriously as I am, and he's truly as involved in the conversation as I am. It's the cutest thing ever! I can't wait for him to start really talking, and saying, 'Mama'! He is always bouncing on his feet and trying to stand up. He's still teething, but with help from the Hylands teething tablets, it all seems to be tolerable.
I have to say that the 5 month mark is probably my favorite, because he is so aware and happy, yet not mobile enough that I have to chase after him and grab things from his hands. I am definitely going to miss this phase!

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Each month unfolds new milestone discoveries that amaze me. This month
is when Zane really began talking, and by talking, I mean nonstop! I'm
convinced he's speaking some ancient language he's fluent in. He babbles
so naturally, with such conviction and tons of expression. His babbles
are music to my ears; I could listen all day long. He holds his head up
perfectly now, so I can wear him in my ergobaby360 carrier easily. I've been taking him on nature walks and he loves to look around and observe the ducks and turtles swimming in the pond.